Escape device for astronauts or the like



Feb. 24, 1970 L cs 3,497,159

ESCAPE DEVICE FOR ASTRONAUTS OR THE. LIKE Filed Aug. 1, 1967 22 1,23 27 MW, J- 3 1 INVENTOR 26 25 5 JOHN LANCSA w M F M r ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,497,159 ESCAPE DEVICE FOR ASTRONAUTS OR THE LIKE John Lancsa, 705 Moy Ave., Windsor, Ontario, Canada Filed Aug. 1, 1967, Ser. No. 657,694

Int. Cl. 364g 1/10 U.S. Cl. 2441 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to a safety fire escape mechanism for space capsules.

Heretofore, astronauts have had some difiiculty in escaping from fires originating in or adjacent to space capsule chambers with the result that some astronauts have perished or been severely burned.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a safety fire escape means for a space capsule by which at the first evidence of a fire the astronaut may drop through normally closed trap doors into a safety escape chamber and escape to the exterior of the capsule.

It is an object of the present invention to incorporate into and with the construction of the space capsule a housing connected therewith providing an escape chamber, together with a chute interconnecting the capsule chamber and the escape chamber and with trap doors which may be released under the control of the astronaut by which an astronaut can drop instantly from the capsule chamber into the safety chamber to escape fire and may thereafter escape from the safety chamber through automatically operable outlet doors as desired.

In capsule constructions of the type described, normally fire control means are automatically activated for putting out a fire, however it becomes necessary that the astronaut leave the chamber as quickly as possible to avoid suffocation and burning. It is therefore the further object of the present invention to provide a safety escape hatch by which the astronaut can immediately remove himself from a chamber of the capsule wherein a fire exists during the period that the fire is being put out and to provide additional means by which the astronaut may return to the control chamber thereafter.

These and other objects will be seen from the following specification and claims in conjunction with the appended drawing in which:

The single drawing is a schematic diagrammatic view of a space capsule with safety escape chamber and housing connected thereto.

It will be understood that the above drawing illustrates merely a preferred embodiment of the invention, and that other embodiments are contemplated within the scope of the claims hereafter set forth.

Referring to the drawing, the conventional type of space capsule is generally indicated at 11, being fragmentarily shown in the drawing and including a chamber 12 for one or more astronauts 13, and including a conventional chamber fioor 14.

Connected directly below the said floor and in axial registry with capsule 11 is a housing 15, preferably of cylindrical form.

Within said housing axially thereof there is provided an elongated chute 16, which is adapted to interconnect astronaut chamber 12 and the interior of the safety escape chamber 23 within the lower portion of housing 15.

The upper end of the chute connects with a corresponding opening in the floor 14 within which are provided at least a pair of trap doors 17, normally hinged at 18 and retained in closed position by latch 20. Said doors being spring biased as at 19 to normally assume the closed position in the drawing once the doors have opened downwardly.

A latch release control 21 is provided upon the interior of the chamber 12 as at 21 or may be applied to the astronaut uniform for easy access. In any event manual operation of the latch release 21 will release the latch 20 and permit the trap doors 17 to tilt downwardly under the weight of the astronaut until the one or more astronauts from the chamber 12 are permitted to drop by gravity or, if in a weightless environment, by means of a force applied by the astronauts through chute 16 into safety chamber 23.

The springs 19 in connection with the trap doors cause automatic closing of the said doors and to thus isolate the fire within chamber 12 from the escape chamber 23 therebelow.

The astronauts therefore remain upon the floor 24 within housing 15 at the base of the escape chamber 23.

Under some conditions, as for example where the capsule has not been launched, immediate escape from the escape chamber is also required.

For this purpose there are provided at least a pair of automatically openable doors 25 on housing 15 in communication with chamber 23, which are normally on vertical axes as at 26, and retained closed by a conventional type of latch 27.

This may be an electrical latch operated by a switch, so that when the doors 17 are open to permit escape of an astronaut, as designated at 13, electrical connection can be established to latch 27 to permit automatic opening of the escape doors 25 by which the astronaut or astronauts can escape to the atmosphere, down the gantry or otherwise escape from a burning capsule.

Under other conditions Where it is not desirable to es cape from the safety chamber, as for example Where the capsule is in flight, it would be necessary for the astronaut or astronauts to remain in the safety chamber until the fire has been extinguished from the capsule chamber 12.

For this purpose there is provided fire extinguisher 29 within the capsule chamber which is normally automatically operable to extinguish the fire, but which can be under the control of the astronaut as by the manual switch 30 or controlled additionally by the fire control switch 31 within the safety chamber.

An elevator lift 28 is provided within safety chamber 23 normally mounted upon the floor 24 and associated with a suitable motor means 32 by which, under the control of the astronaut the elevator 28 may be caused to rise vertically into and upwardly into chute 16 a sufiicient distance to permit an astronaut to climb back into the capsule chamber 12.

Having described my invention reference should now be had to the following claims.

I claim:

1. A safety fire escape means for a space capsule adapted for ground launching and having a control chamber with floor occupied by one or more astronauts;

the improvement comprising a housing axially connected to the capsule adjacent said floor;

a safety fire escape chamber adjacent the bottom of said housing including a floor surface;

an upright escape chute in said housing interconnecting said capsule floor and safety chamber;

said chute having an inlet, including a pair of normally spring biased hinged trap doors nested in a corresponding opening in the capsule floor;

a latch normally maintaining said trap doors closed;

manual control means in the capsule chamber connected to release said latch;

said trap doors being openable on application of weight thereto;

and adapted to automatically close after one or more astronauts has passed therethrough into said chute; to normally seal off said capsule chamber until a fire therein is extinguished;

said trap doors adapted to open upwardly to permit reentry into said chamber.

2. In the safety fire escape means of claim 1, and a pair of safety outlet doors in said housing normally closing said safety escape chamber, and automatically openable on opening of said trap doors.

3. In the safety fire escape means of claim 2, said doors being hinged upon vertical axes;

a latch normally retaining said doors closed;

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,286,952 11/1966 Seeler. 3,330,510 7/1967 Johnson. 3,374,965 3/1968 Deutsch.

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,461,529 11/1966 France.

FERGUS S. MIDDLETON, Primary Examiner JEFFREY L. FORMAN, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 18248 

